The Rum Diary

Thompson's fans will embrace its twisted verbal dexterity, romantically imagining the author feverishly pulling strings from the beyond.

The Rum Diary is enjoyable enough, after its digressive, episodic and voyeuristic fashion. But neither Depp nor Robinson seems quite aware that Thompson's story - both in terms of his brief career in Puerto Rico and in terms of his life - was at least as much a story of tragedy and self-immolation as it was of genius.

The result is a subpar comic adventure that's nonetheless admirable for its restrained vision of Thompson in his early gestation period.

We have the feeling that Kemp/Thompson saw much of life through the bottom of a dirty glass and did not experience it with any precision. The film duplicates this sensation, not with much success.

The legend of Thompson is immortal, though, and it'll fall to each generation to jam him into its own mold. Depp and Robinson's view is that Thompson was like a mullet: a party in the back but all business upfront.

To the audience, this stuff seems like awfully old news. We're supposed to be witnessing the birth of a great journalist, but Hunter S. Thompson, as his career went on, got swallowed up by his mystique as an outlaw of excess. In The Rum Diary, that myth becomes an excuse for a movie to go slumming.

The Rum Diary has no mighty gonzo wind. Even with a push from its Thompson-worshipping star, Johnny Depp, it leaves our freak flag limp.

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"The Rum Diary" 10 Scale Rating: 6.5 (Decent) ... The Good: Zany and outlandish, "The Rum Diary" is entertaining from start to finish. Just like in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", Depp plays a character who is essentially Hunter S. Thompson himself and pulls it off with ease. The Bad: Even though you expect it from a movie like this, it seems to lack a plot at all and at times is flat out random. Like I said, it was entertaining ... but ... not an instant classic or remotely deep.

The Rum Diary, based on a novel by Hunter S. Thompson, is definitely an homage to Thompson. Gonzo followers will find it a must-see. Having read the book a few years ago, I was looking forward to the movie. Depp, although expectedly cast, did fit well.

I love Johnny Depp, but this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen him do. It is extremely hard to follow, I dozed off three times, and the rest of the time I couldn't understand what they were saying. This is truly a disgrace to Mr. Depp's career. Just terrible.

Rhum Express est loin d'être aussi dÃjantà de ce que nous laissait prÃvoir la bande-annonce. Il ne l'est carrÃment pas! Avec un scÃnario sans queue ni tête, majoritairement chiant à cause d'un manque flagrant d'ambiance (musicale du moins : on est quand même à Porto Rico, la fiesta et l'alcool, que diable!!!) et de moments d'anthologie. De plus, les passages de "trip" passent très mal (la langue qui s'allonge, des bouteilles en guise de quilles au bowling...) car trop expÃdiÃs et surtout inintÃressants. Au final, que pouvons-nous retenir de Rhum Express? Quand même deux choses : l'interprÃtation des acteurs (Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart et surtout Giovanni Ribisi, qui se lâche comme rarement) qui tente de faire remonter le film (sans succès, malheureusement), ainsi que quelques passages qui font sourire, voire même vraiment rire pour certains (des jeux de mots, la sÃquence de Johnny Depp conduisant sur les genoux de Michael Rispoli). Mais bon, Rhum Express n'est vraiment pas la cuite que l'ont aurait voulu prendre...